Land of empty promises (2022)

The Physics of Sorrow

Tracks an unknown man’s life as he sifts through memories of his youth in Bulgaria through to his increasingly rootless and melancholic adulthood in Canada.

I'll End Up in Jail

A bored stay-at-home mom gets into trouble after speeding away from her small-town life.

Discovering Ella

The (mostly) true story of the greatest jazz drummer you've never heard of who stumbled upon a 16-year-old singer and nurtured her into a legend.

Noodles

A short film about love, told backwards.

Visions of Europe

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Fabrizio’s Initiation

In the heat of summer, Fabrizio is desperate to find the right time and place to make out with Nadia, his longtime girlfriend. With frustration building because his best laid plans are constantly getting interrupted, he comes up with a novel solution — but it will take more than just one teen boy to make it happen.

Pepijn

Plot unavailable

Rubber Band Pistol

Jūzō Itami's debut short film, concerning a group of unique young people in the high economic growth period who are into games with rubber band pistols.

Debut

A short film about Philip who dreams of becoming a model. At a casting he gets the chance to be photographed with the well-known model Sebastiaan; they fall in love. During the photo shoot, Philip pushes his limits more and more in order to keep the photographer's interest. Philip and Sebastiaan lose control of the situation when Philip is doing everything he can just to be able to stay in front of the camera.

Closets

It's 1986, tormented teenager Henry is struggling with his sexuality and abusive home life. Henry sits in his closet contemplating suicide. In a flash of light he is transported to 2016 where he meets teenager Ben — now occupying his room 30 years later.

Shed

An Aboriginal girl held captive and at the mercy of the station’s stockmen makes an unlikely friend and finds the courage to set herself free.

It's Getting Late

In the translucent LA dusk we discover four women living very different lives. The camera follows each as they wind down their working days, their four stories weaving together as each prepares for their evening.

Stelios

The touching story of a child from a Pontic refugee family who managed to survive and thrive against all odds, thanks to his immense talent and resilience in the face of social and personal challenges. Music, love, family, friends, fishing, creativity, people of the night, hardcore fans, and intense conflicts come together to create the mosaic of his life. This film is a tribute to legendary singer, Stelios Kazantzidis, whose voice touched the hearts of all Greeks around the world. A film for those who loved him and those who wish to discover him.

Boyfriend

You've met the perfect guy and he seems wonderful. There's just one small problem.

Two Belles in Love

She smells her fragrance, she sees her talent... The ancient love story of Cui Jianyun and Cao Yuhua. The plight of these two women is told as they fall in love due to the admiration for each other's stunning beauty and literary craft. Adapted from the Kunqu opera & story by Li Yu, "Fragrant Companion/Lianxiang Companion", this short film includes a parallel between the play and "reality." The ending has been altered from the original play.

Cherry-Red

Anna and Marie are two women who could possibly love each other. Marie wants to be open to this new overwhelming feeling, even if she has to throw away all that she has ever held to be right. Anna on the other hand, enjoys the attention from this gentle soft girl Marie, who seems to love her, not in spite of but also because of her sharp edges. It could all be so easy if it weren't for Zoe, the woman who has been at Anna's side for years.

According to Mateo

Mateo and his boyfriend, Marc, arrive home after a night out with Luke, a guy they've just met. After an argument, Mateo leaves the flat and bumps into Jon, a drug dealer they have called. Mateo convinces Jon to take him to his house where he discovers he can't feel anything if it's not through pain.

Petit ami

Jasper, a 20 something playboy with little empathy, has a date in a rather obscure motel Petit Ami with Vincent, a mysterious older man. For Jasper just another day on the job, until he discovers Vincent's secret.

Boundin'

On a high mountain plain lives a lamb with wool of such remarkable sheen that he breaks into high-steppin' dance. But there comes a day when he loses his lustrous coat and, along with it, his pride. It takes a wise jackalope - a horn-adorned rabbit - to teach the moping lamb that wooly or not, it's what's inside that'll help him rebound from life's troubles.

Triumph of the Actor

Ercan is fed up with clichés of migrant roles. Instead of playing a terrorist on television, the Turkish actor is trying to get a role as Hitler in a new movie.

Knight of Fortune

The loss of a loved one, the grief, the risk of yellow skin, and a coffin, that is too much for Karl to face. Then it's much easier to fix a broken lamp. Karl meets Torben, a destined brother. An absurd, humorous, and melodic meeting between two old men captured by grief.

Spindeln

Johannes is 11 years old and dreams of a rope blocking his and his friend's way when they are on their way home from school. When he grabs the rope, he realizes that it is "something dangerous going on". A huge spider pops up and chases the kids, who are eventually saved by a heroic old woman.

Ace

Set within the embrace of an intimate group of friends in college, Ace follows the emotional journey of a shy newcomer who discovers an attraction to longstanding group-member Z that he can neither ignore nor fully embrace. As the connection between Ace and Z intensifies, so to does the silence that both illuminates their fears and fuels their insecurities. Though the attraction between them appears unmistakable, their inability to acknowledge and express their feelings for each other openly threatens to sever the powerful bond that draws them instinctively to each other.

Daybreak Express

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

Carne

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

Zombies

A journey between hope and dystopia in a hallucinated Kinshasa, from the culture of the hair salon to futuristic solitary clubbing, from an urban parade to a dictator's sense of glory to a modern western in the style of Takeshi Kitano.

Fragments

Chloe, a straight talking film director, tries to convince her friend Sam to be an actor in her next short film. Just after finding out that he once again didn’t get into medical school, Sam meets Alex, a hypochondriac 18 year old. A love triangle forms in these self-reflexive, humoristic fragments filled with sex talk , set in New Orleans.

Turtles Can Fly

Turtles Can Fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iraq border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.

Two Distant Strangers

A man trying to get home to his dog becomes stuck in a time loop that forces him to relive a deadly run-in with a cop.

Dear Mr Shakespeare: Shakespeare Lives

An evocative and imaginative exploration of the racial tensions in Othello and how the themes in Shakespeare's play still resonate today.

Lonely Water

Warning children not to play near 'dark and lonely' water, a horror film style look and voice-over is used in this film to highlight the dangers.

Fragment

Fon has been harboring a secret love for her best friend for as long as she can remember. Fearful of jeopardizing their friendship, she chooses to keep her feelings hidden. However, seeing her best friend and her boyfriend's intimate moments makes her feel very uncomfortable. How long will she be able to hide her feelings? Will Fon be able to turn her friendship into love?

Drink

A Twilight Zone-inspired cautionary tale about a young mother forced to come face-to-face with her deepest desire.

Dream Kitchen

A tale about isolation and lack of communication, the gap between the reality a teenage boy lives, and how he would like it be. He has a secret that he would like to tell his family, something that he has come to terms with and is about to affect the rest of his life. But how will they react?

The Dam Keeper

In a desolate future, one small town has survived because of a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out pollution. The dam's operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning and protect the town, despite abuse from classmates and an indifferent public. When a new student joins Pig's class, nothing will be the same again.

Dogville

When beautiful young Grace arrives in the isolated township of Dogville, the small community agrees to hide her from a gang of ruthless gangsters, and, in return, Grace agrees to do odd jobs for the townspeople.

CHORUS

After missing his wife's phone call goodbye on the morning of September 11th, a now listless and brokenhearted music teacher must harmonize with his increasingly desperate fourteen-year-old son.

Quintessence

The former lover of man dying of AIDS goes for one last visit only to find the man missing and the man's angry sister there.

The Generators

Set in a time of extreme energy poverty, one man struggles to support his ailing husband. A story of humanity set against a future we can change.

In the Mood for Love – Day One

Edited from never-before-seen footage, this short film unveils rare scenes of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in roles vastly different from their iconic lovers. The first Asian film NFT offered at international auction houses, this unique artwork celebrates the first day of production for the acclaimed 2000 film, offering a glimpse into the creative process behind the masterpiece. As Wong Kar Wai cites, "Every thought consists of ninety flashes, and within each flash lives nine hundred sparks and extinguishments." This NFT eternalizes that first spark, marking a historic moment in Asian cinema.

Bhed Bakri Bhoot

A brass band member's hate comment in a public toilet triggers a chain reaction of diverse social expressions.

Wild Youth

Wild Youth is an ode to being young. A sensitive and intimate story of the first experiences of losing one's childlike innocence, questioning the imposed "masculinity" and (re)discovering yourself in the function of others.

Bata, Batak Ka Pa

A young boy's innocence is slowly deprived by digital overstimulation and the War on Drugs. Surrounded by a world of vices, his future becomes uncertain when he learns the truth about the people around him.

Glimpse

A highly emotive, visual feast set in the imaginative mind of a heartbroken panda called Herbie, who has recently broken up with his deer girlfriend Rice.

Lughead

Two strangers meet in a motel room where everything is not as it seems.

Brothers

From childhood to adulthood, brothers Bilal and Nassim support each other no matter what.

1992

It's 1992. Martin is 17 and he films his daily life with his Hi8 camera. He films anything and everything—his room, the world around him... But never his father, the thought doesn't occur to him. One day he meets Dominique. He's 23 and works as a student monitor at Martin's high school.